Systems Thinking From The Inside (2013) Julia Tcharfas and Tim Ivison, Chisenhale Gallery, London, UK
Systems Thinking From the Inside is a lecture-performance inside an inflatable planetarium.
We are thinking of a cosmonaut, breathing regularly, reading a measurement as she orbits the planet plugged into a completely synthetic environment. The mechanical shell has been designed to monitor and regulate the interdependent systems of the living planet that she has left, while its thick steel, bolts and seals leave no question as to the hostility of the space beyond its walls. Our understanding of what makes it work is still primitive. On earth, amateur ecologists were able to live for two years in a closed-system experiment. Meanwhile, new air, food, and water supplies are flown to the International Space Station every six months from Moscow.